Pet Safety on the Road

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I see it all the time… a driver holding a small dog in his or her lap while trying to manuever a vehicle down a busy street or on the open road. Invariably, the dog will move back and forth, and the driver will have to look around it on either side to try to watch the road. Unfortunately, I see this also with unrestrained small children. Read more

Can You Realy Tell Anything About Your Alignment By Looking At Your Tires?

The simple answer is yes you can. The first step in gauging tire symptoms is tire pressure. A tire that is improperly inflated will show wear that may partially mask the alignment wear patterns. Underinflation will tend to allow the center of the tread to squish up and leave the two shoulders to carry the weight of the rig. This, on careful examination, will be evident as the wear pattern extends down onto the side walls of the tire as they are now in contact with the pavement. An over inflated tire will show more wear on the center of the tread as the tire balloons lifting the shoulders off the pavement on both sides of the tread.

Under inflation gives the rig a squiggle squishy feeling and lots of imprecise steering input as the tires tend to flop under on turns and absorb steering. This squishiness is what causes the excessive flexing in the tire building an overheating condition resulting in tire failure.

Over inflation will give a harsh ride and tend to create a dartiness in the steering as when turning the tire tends to roll off the high center created by the ballooning effect of the tire and cause a lead in steering. On the plus side heat build up is less but over inflation can result in decreasing the tread contact surface with the pavement effecting handling and braking. There is a vacuum cleaner commercial out that shows a vacuum cleaner using a ball for a front wheel, and it touts the ability to turn corners.

And of course the proper inflation for a tire is best arrived at by weighing the rig and then consulting a tire chart for the maker of your tires. There is a bit of wiggle room in the pressures but reading your tires will tell you the answer to that.

Next week lets start with caster. Caster is a directional control angle first off and then when caster is way off it can become a tire wearing angle. Camber is primarily a tire wear angle and can be a directional control problem as well. Toe in is a tire wear angle first of all and then a handling angle. Notice that I have used a different term here as there are several different names for the way a vehicle reacts to steering input, wind, and road conditions.

So, tune in next week when we get to the nitty gritty.

Brad

New isn’t better if you don’t know how to use it!

Everyone likes to get new things, new campers, new clothes, new generators, new equipment in general. And most of the time, those new items are great improvements, for example the boots that they have now days are fantastic. I now have winter boots that keep my feet warm and that I can walk in without feeling like I am in snowshoes, or worry about water, and they weigh less than a five pound sack of sugar each.

But the down-side of new equipment often isn’t talked about! What down-side can there be to new equipment? Well, I am sure most you, if you think about it, have had some new piece of equipment that you thought would just be wonderful only to find that it didn’t work as well as advertised or was made shoddily. I am going to tell the tale of two pieces of equipment that have gone wrong and the mistakes made, and most of all how to learn from some painful errors! So, please continue to read on.

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Motorcycle safety, a different point of view.

As some of you might remember, I and my significant other ride motorcycles. Now, I grew up playing with anything that had a motor. Things like mini bikes, homemade dune buggies, go karts, backhoes, dump trucks, lawn mowers, tractors and yes motorcycles were all things that we worked on, built and rode/drove when I was a kid. As an adult with little money, I got away from playing with "toys". But, as I grew older and having a little money, I managed to start getting some of my own toys, like pop-ups and campers, bass boat, and, yes, a motorcycle. So, what do motorcycles and riding have to do with camping and RVing? Well, I don’t know about you, but I see more and more bikes in trucks or as toads or even pulling small pop-ups.

Now, as a paramedic, I am very aware of the risks and dangers of two-wheeled travel and keeping life and limb together and unhurt is a prime goal. Maybe, if I had been more aware of that as a youngster, I wouldn’t have as many aches and pains as I do today! So, I thought I was a pretty safe driver, wearing gear, helmet, and boots at all times. But when my significant other decided to ride, I realized that someone who is a professional teacher would be better to help her learn than I could. So, Pennsylvania has a safety/driving course for motorcycle riders sponsored by the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) to teach riders how to ride and ride safer. So we signed up! Now, I already had my license and figured it would be just a chance to get some brownie points! But, what I learned was much more! So, if you have ever wondered about having a motorcycle as a toad, or as a tour/camping bike or just wondered if you were interested in riding, please read on.

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Close Call!

I would imagine that some of you follow these blogs regularly. If you kept up with mine, then you will know that I dealt with a flood and more recently a lightening strike. Now I need to add a tornado to my list. We never really received an official word if it was a tornado or just a huge wind gust, but all indicators are that it was a tornado. Read more

Hey Ranger! Don’t Feed the Bears

If you were to compile a list of the terms most often associated with signs and regulations in parks, two would probably come to mind: “Keep off the Grass” and “Don’t Feed the Bears.”

The implications of ignoring the one about bears are obviously a lot more serious! I’ll share an amusing story in this post, but it is important to follow good safety guidelines when it comes to bears. For some useful tips about bear safety, click here.

Almost anyone who has camped for very long has heard or experienced “bear stories.” Some have become legends of sorts, and often serve as good examples of what not to do in the Great Outdoors. Whether they are true or simply woodsy versions of urban legends is sometimes hard to determine.

Bryan Kramer, a reader of this blog from Florida, sent an e-mail with the background of one of those legendary tales. Read more

Campsite Hazards, Where you meet the world.

Once again real world affects the best intentions. I wanted to publish this last week, but was unable to get my laptop to talk to the hotels WIFI hookup! We survived a week long family reunion. We all met in Virginia and enjoyed a week staying in a cabin in the woods. There was no blood shed and we all still talking with each other; the kids even ate something other than chicken nuggets and everyone had fun visiting caves and the skyline drive and even a day in Washington DC.

But while on vacation, we all wanted to go tubing down the Shenandoah river. However, when we got to the river, we found many signs telling us due to the low water and lack of rain that there was an intestinal bug in the river that if ingested could cause “explosive” diarrhea. Well, I don’t know about you, but, when you combine the words explosive and diarrhea, you make me scared! But it made me start thinking of what we face when we step out of the camper or tent and how to ease some of the common problems around the campsite. Come with me while I take a walk around a typical campsite and see what pitfalls await!
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Pet Heat Stroke Warnings

Heat stroke is a very important issue concerning your pet’s health and with the current heat wave sweeping many parts of the nation, it’s important to remember that high temperature, high humidity and poor ventilation can be a threat not only to humans but to pets as well. Temperatures can rise very quickly in a parked vehicle (even with the windows cracked).  Read more

Hey Ranger! Let Sleeping Snakes Lie

What do Hoover Dam, a rattlesnake, and cold water have in common? They’re all elements in a story that confirms the wisdom of a good rule for any outdoor trip: let sleeping snakes lie.

Many people who enjoy the Great Outdoors worry about snakes. While it certainly pays to be cautious when it comes to any type of wildlife, the risk of being accosted by a snake is very small. You can greatly improve those odds by following three basic rules about snakes: (1) just leave them alone; (2) don’t put your hands, feet or any other body parts anyplace without looking first to ensure it isn’t already occupied by another life-form; (3) don’t assume that an immobile snake will remain in that condition if you violate rule number 1 or 2.

Based on those guidelines, the two guys in the following story failed to receive any points toward their snakemanship badge. Read more

Campfire safety, it’s not all light my fire baby!

This week I want to talk about campfire safety. I realize and hope I am talking to the people that already are safety-minded about fires, but since this is one of the most frequent causes of injuries while camping, I thought it deserved a strong mention.

The campfire is one of the nicest parts of camping. My family loves to sit around the campfire telling stories and making s’mores (if you promise to read this to the end I will give you the new s’mores recipe we are using!). As the night goes on and the wear and tear of the day starts to take it’s toll and the fire burns down, we become quiet and begin watching the fire and the almost hypnotic effect it starts to have. Finally, when someone either yawns so wide it looks like the top of their head is going to fall off, or falls asleep, then it is time for bed. It is also most useful for cooking and heating water for dishes if you are dry camping.

But, like any tool, you must learn how to use it safely. You don’t give a 4-year-old an axe and say go have fun.  Likewise you don’t give a 4-year-old matches and say go have fun… but, at any age, you can learn about fire safety. Most of what I am going to say is common sense but, like my Grandfather used to tell me, “Common sense isn’t that common anymore.” So, please read this, and if you learn one new thing that can make you safer, it will have been worth it!

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